Jordy's condition critical but stable

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The 11-year-old Hedgesville boy who received a double-lung transplant two months ago was in critical but stable condition at a Washington, D.C., hospital Tuesday.

Jordy Carper had been in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Children's National Medical Center since Thursday with an infection and a collapsed lung. On Tuesday afternoon, his condition was upgraded to critical but stable.

The slight improvement came as no surprise to Larry Hoerner, a guidance counselor at Tuscarora Elementary School who has home-schooled Jordy since February.

"He will beat this," Hoerner said. "It's just his makeup. He's had cystic fibrosis his whole life, so he's lived with this."

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The fifth-grader had double-lung transplant surgery in June in Los Angeles.

He returned to school in January, but left at the end of February after a spot was found on his lung at one of his regular check-ups, Hoerner said.

Hoerner began home-schooling Jordy then, but he also became a friend.

Hoerner and Jordy have a football rivalry.

"He and I would always buck heads. Jordy's a Dallas Cowboys fan and we always had this running thing going between the Eagles and the Cowboys," Hoerner said.

The spot on Jordy's lung cleared and he planned to return to school in April. But last Thursday, Jordy began having trouble breathing and his chest was congested.

"It just came up so quick. There was no warning at all," Hoerner said.

Jordy's mother, Melissa Carper, began the drive to the medical center, but got caught in a traffic jam. The trip, which would normally take about 75 minutes took nearly 21/2 hours, Hoerner said.

Melissa Carper couldn't be reached at the hospital's parent waiting room Tuesday, but Hoerner said it is her perseverance that has kept Jordy alive.

"She has done all the research on double-lung transplants and she's incredibly organized," Hoerner said.

When Jordy arrived at the hospital, he was placed on a respirator.

"There are so many good qualities about Jordy. Man, he just never complains," Hoerner said. "He has every right to be so fed up with things and to feel sorry for himself, but he won't let that happen."

Doctors said that without the double-lung transplant, Jordy would have died of cystic fibrosis within a year.